In wireless interfaces such as those based on the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.16 air interface, mobile devices perform routing area updates after detecting that they have exited their respective paging areas. In other technologies, a mobile may perform a routing area update (or registration) when it detects that the location of its current network node is greater than a particular distance from the network node with which it last performed a routing area update/registration (e.g., when it moves into a cell which is more than a requisite registration distance from its last known cell) or when it enters a new cell in a new paging area. Often a mobile device will be located at the edge of a cell when it discovers that it has entered a new paging area (or has moved its requisite registration distance) and then performs its routing area update. However, in general, signaling while near the edge of a coverage area requires a greater portion of the available signaling capacity and battery life than does signaling while located more centrally within the coverage area. Routing area updates/registrations may therefore adversely impact wireless capacity. Thus, new techniques able to reduce the impact of routing area updates on system capacity would be desirable.
Specific embodiments of the present invention are disclosed below with reference to FIGS. 1-3. Both the description and the illustrations have been drafted with the intent to enhance understanding. For example, the dimensions of some of the figure elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements, and well-known elements that are beneficial or even necessary to a commercially successful implementation may not be depicted so that a less obstructed and a more clear presentation of embodiments may be achieved. In addition, although the signaling flow diagrams and/or the logic flow diagrams above are described and shown with reference to specific signaling exchanged and/or specific functionality performed in a specific order, some of the signaling/functionality may be omitted or some of the signaling/functionality may be combined, sub-divided, or reordered without departing from the scope of the claims. Thus, unless specifically indicated, the order and grouping of the signaling/functionality depicted is not a limitation of other embodiments that may lie within the scope of the claims.
Simplicity and clarity in both illustration and description are sought to effectively enable a person of skill in the art to make, use, and best practice the present invention in view of what is already known in the art. One of skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes may be made to the specific embodiments described below without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the specification and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative and exemplary rather than restrictive or all-encompassing, and all such modifications to the specific embodiments described below are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.